Kerala IT engages Australia’s Victoria State for opportunities

Trivandrum: A high level delegation from the State of Victoria in Australia, led by their Minister for Technology, Gordon Rich-Phillips, visited Thiruvananthapuram last week and spent few days exploring Kerala’s IT hub. This was the first time a Victorian Government trade mission has visited Kerala.

The 20 member delegation included Howard Ronaldson, Secretary, Department of State Development, Business & Innovation, Government of Victoria; Officials from the Australian Trade Office and Representatives from about fifteen Victorian companies who explored business opportunities in the State and potential partnerships in the areas of ICT, Healthcare and Education, among other sectors. The Victorian Delegation met with the officials of the Kerala IT Department, InKel and also held B2B meeting in Technopark, Trivandrum, meeting prospective partners and collaborators from the IT industry in Kerala.

Earlier, speaking at an ICT networking event hosted by GTech, the Group of Technology Companies in Kerala, Mr. Rich-Phillips said, “The Victorian Government looked forward to working with Kerala on areas of mutual interest. Our government is committed to developing trade with Kerala.”

“Victoria is the hub of ICT in Australia and we are interested in partnering with Kerala, which has long been an Indian leader in the adoption and application of ICT services. We applaud the Government of Kerala’s vision to deliver services seamlessly through an integrated e-governance framework, as well as plans to make the State fully e-literate and digital. This visit marks the start of a new era of engagement between Kerala and Victoria”, he added.

P H Kurian, Principal Secretary – IT, GoK said, “Kerala’s engagement with Victoria started with the visit of the Global IT Connect delegation to Australia in 2013, with CEOs of 20 IT companies from Technopark and Infopark, Kochi and other officials from the IT Department. We had the best response from Victoria and the mission was a great success with about 25 business deals being signed.”

V K Mathews, Chairman, IBS Group shared his experiences as an investor in Kerala and of doing business in Australia and said

K G Girish Babu, CEO, Technopark said, “Apart from the support and commitment of both the State Governments, the engagement has been matched by the entrepreneurial businesses from the two States and the biggest beneficiaries are the SMEs in Technopark.”

About 200 CXOs from various companies in Technopark, Trivandrum participated in the networking event and the B2B meetings with the Victorian delegation. Similar Indian missions have helped create more than $630 million in new partnerships with Indian companies and organisations.